ISLAMABAD: Reiterating his demands with regard to the curtailment of electoral rigging, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan added some spice to mix by calling for the resignation of all current members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on Sunday.

While it was another good showing for the PTI, there was a marked difference in the kind of crowd that attended this rally and the people who used to frequent the party’s earlier rallies in Islamabad.

Last year on May 9, the PTI ended its election campaign at the same place with a rally that was addressed by Mr Khan, albeit from his hospital bed. Most people who turned out were from educated, urban middle-class families. This time around, there were far fewer women, nor were the arrangements adequate for the few that showed up. And those who did attend were not happy with the organisers. In fact, many women, fed up with the unfriendly environment, were seen walking out of the venue while PTI leaders were still making speeches.

“This rally lacks the usual colour which the PTI is known for, especially in Islamabad,” noted Zafar, a government official who lives near the venue. He has seen many rallies in his time here, but admitted that it was impressive how many people an opposition party had managed to rally.

This time around, a major chunk of the crowd came from the PTI-ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, although party candidates and office-bearers from Punjab also came along with their constituents.

As always, party flags were available in abundance and provided to participants upon arrival. Right up until 5pm, the official time for the procession, there were only a few thousand people at the venue. But things picked up as night fell and key party leaders began to deliver their speeches.

Although the rally was primarily a protest against ‘fraudulent elections’, Mr Khan peppered his speech with pot-shots at the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Dressed in his traditional shalwar kameez, Mr Khan asked the Sharif brothers and Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar for details of their foreign investments. “How come you can ask others to invest in Pakistan, when you and your families have businesses abroad,” he asked.

Anomalies in the ongoing Rawalpindi metro bus project, repaying the circular debt and the government’s apparent lack of interest in bringing money back from foreign banks featured in his speech. However, his primary thrust was still the alleged rigging of the 2013 general elections. “We have gathered here to ensure that in the future, the mandate of the masses cannot be stolen. This is not possible under the present ECP. Therefore, I am demanding the resignation of all current ECP members,” Mr Khan said.

The PTI chief declared that his party would protest outside ECP offices every Friday until their demands were met. He also announced that the party’s next rally would be held in Faisalabad on May 23.

Referring to the ongoing tiff between a media house and the military establishment, Mr Khan positioned himself firmly behind the latter, saying nobody should be allowed to “play with national institutions”.

Before Mr Khan’s concluding speech, PTI vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi called the rally a referendum against the government’s failure. Party president Javed Hashmi referred to the gathering as “an eye-opener for PTI’s political opponents”.

Always the maverick, Sheikh Rashid announced that if Imran Khan wanted, the people were ready to put an end to what he called a “fake National Assembly”, which came into being as a result of the ‘fraud elections’. “The PML-N government’s engine has become rickety and they cannot give the required performance.”

Charter of demands

In a statement issued after the rally, PTI spokesperson listed the nine demands made by Khan at the rally.

The resignation of all present election commissioners and reform of the system of selection of chairman and members of the ECP.

The immediate verification of voters’ thumbprints in the four constituencies identified by PTI, within two weeks.

All perpetrators guilty of rigging the 2013 elections be brought to justice.

All returning officers must be legally accountable to the ECP.

Post-election appeals must be adjudicated in the stipulated time of 120 days.

All future elections must be held under biometric system and electronic voting machines must be introduced.

Ensuring genuinely neutral caretakers; they must not be allowed to hold any public office for at least 2 years after their stint in the interim government.

Implementation of the Supreme Court decision allowing overseas Pakistanis the right to vote.

All parties to form a committee and come up with a comprehensive electoral reform package, to be legislated by parliament.